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Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Rumors of their separation circulated widely, but the couple issued a denial. Jada took it a step further Sunday and shared a nice message to fans and critics on her Facebook page.

Esther Lee

Philly.com

Jada Pinkett Smith wants to make it crystal clear to everyone (or at least her Facebook followers): She is in a mutually-exclusive, committed relationship with her Philly-raised, triple threat of a husband, Will Smith.

The actress took to her Facebook Sunday to clarify a recent dialogue that fueled the ill-conceived rumors that she and Will shared an open marriage.

As part of her recent interview with HuffPost Live host Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (Philly shout-out!), Pinkett Smith was asked about the curiosities surrounding her marriage. She responded, "I've always told Will, 'You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be OK.'"

What confused listeners was the part where she stated, "Because at the end of the day, Will is his own man. I'm here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that's not for me to do for him. Or vice versa."

With the hullabaloo over her inability to squash the rumor on-air, Pinkett Smith decided to continue her explanation - via social media.

"Open marriage?" she wrote in the opening of the letter. "Let me first say this, there are far more important things to talk about in regards to what is happening in the world than whether I have an open marriage or not. I am addressing this issue because a very important subject has been born from discussions about my statement that may be worthy of addressing."The 41-year-old mother of Jaden, 14, and Willow, 12, added, "The statement I made in regard to, 'Will can do whatever he wants,' has illuminated the need to discuss the relationship between trust and love and how they co-exist."

She followed that up with a series of questions challenging her readers: "Do we believe loving someone means owning them? Do we believe that ownership is the reason someone should 'behave'? Do we believe that all the expectations, conditions, and underlying threats of 'you better act right or else' keep one honest and true? Do we believe that we can have meaningful relationships with people who have not defined nor live by the integrity of his or her higher self? What of unconditional love? Or does love look like, feel like, and operate as enslavement? Do we believe that the more control we put on someone the safer we are? What of TRUST and LOVE?"

"Should we be married to individuals who can not be responsible for themselves and their families within their freedom? Should we be in relationships with individuals who we can not entrust to their own values, integrity, and LOVE...for us???"

Pinkett Smith continued, "Here is how I will change my statement...Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one."

The Smiths have been married for 16 years. As of Monday afternoon, Pinkett Smith's extensive post - which she shared via mobile by the way - had over 20,000 Shares and nearly 150,000 Likes.